Preview: Sint-Truiden vs Dender - prediction, team news, lineups

The third round of games in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League sees two unbeaten teams go head-to-head, as Sint-Truiden welcome Dender to the Stayen this Friday night.

The Canaries have picked up four points from their opening two games and will be looking for more when they host an unbeaten Dender side.

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Match preview

Since their promotion to the top division in 2015, Sint-Truiden have failed to pull up any trees, consistently finishing in the bottom half of the table.

Last season, the Canaries only won seven of their 30 league matches and finished a lowly 13th in the standings – their lowest finish in five years.

The club went through three managers last term, last changing names in the dugout in April when Wouter Vrancken decided to take the job.

It is fair to say that the new boss is certainly making a solid first impression, leading his team to four points from their opening two matches.

An impressive 3-1 win over Gent on the opening weekend of the season was swiftly followed up by a 1-1 draw away against Charleroi – a team that has been battling for Europa Conference League qualification.

Sint-Truiden return to the Stayen this Friday night as they prepare to welcome Dender – a side that also boasts an unbeaten record this season.

Vincent Euvrard’s men kicked off their campaign with a goalless draw against Cercle Brugge and backed that up with a 1-1 draw against Standard Liege.

The club, who were only promoted to the top tier in 2024, enjoyed a relatively strong campaign last season as they battled to a 10th-placed finish.

Dender will now be looking for more as they look to capitalise on an unbeaten start to their new campaign.

Euvrard and his side will certainly fancy their chances considering they held Sint-Truiden to a 3-3 draw in this same fixture last season. They also picked up a 2-1 win when the Canaries visited Denderleeuw.

Sint-Truiden Belgian Pro League form:

W D

Dender Belgian Pro League form:

D D

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Team News

Sint-Truiden will have to contend without midfielder Loic Lapoussin, who has been inactive since the start of the campaign.

The hosts could also miss Abdoulaye Sissako, who remains a doubt after picking up a slight injury against Charleroi last weekend.

Dender have got a couple of absentees themselves, with Mohamed Berte still struggling with a muscle injury.

Forward Ragnar Oratmangoen, on the other hand, is expected to miss Friday’s match through illness.

Sint-Truiden possible starting lineup: Kokubo; Hata, Musliu, Van Helden; Jukleroed, Yamamoto, Ito, Patris; Sebaoui, Vanwesemael; Ferrari

Dender possible starting lineup: Verrips; Pupe, Cools, Marijnissen; Rodes, Kvet, Viltard, Mbamba; Ferraro, Scheidler, Hrncar

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We say: Sint-Truiden 1-1 Dender

Both Sint-Truiden and Dender have started the season well, meaning we could be in for a very close game on Friday night.

Dender were able to secure a point on their last trip to the Stayen, and we are backing them to do the same this time around.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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